Generally, an electrical connector includes some form of insulative or dielectric housing which mounts one or more conductive terminals. The housing typically includes a terminating face at one end or side thereof and an opposite mating face configured for mating with a complementary mating connector or other connecting device which, itself, has one or more conductive terminals. The terminals of the connector typically have terminating ends exposed at the terminating face of the housing and contact ends located at the mating face of the housing for electrically engaging the terminals of the complementary mating connector.
Electrical connectors of the character described above are used in a wide variety of applications ranging from electrical signal connectors to pure electrical power connectors, both of which may be terminated to various conductors ranging from discrete electrical cables or wires to printed circuit boards.
Still further, a connector assembly typically includes a pair of mating connectors, such as plug and receptacle connectors sometimes called male and female connectors. In order to hold or lock the pair of connectors in mated conditions, the connectors typically include some form of interengaging latch means therebetween.
One type of electrical connector includes a dielectric housing mounting a plurality of terminals which are terminated to a plurality of discrete electrical wires. A cover is engaged over the terminating end of the housing and combines therewith to define an interior cavity into which the wires are inserted through a mouth between the housing and the cover. The cover must be latched to the housing to hold the cover thereon. Typically, one or more flexible latch arms are provided on the outside of either the cover or the housing for engagement with latching surfaces on the other of the cover or housing. For instance, many such connectors include two latches on opposite sides of the cover and housing. These latches continue to create various problems. For instance, the latches are susceptible to disengagement when the electrical wires are pulled from side to side. This is particularly true when the wires are gathered into a bundle which provides an easy means for an operator to grasp and pull on the connector. In addition, the latch arms are easily damaged during shipping, handling and assembly. Heretofore, latches have not been provided interiorly of the housing and cover of these types of connectors because they would interfere with the electrical wires inserted into the assembly. The present invention is directed to solving this myriad of problems.